View Full Version : Bill Ford Receives 2004 Compensation Package Worth More Than $22M for Role As Chairma


1SICKLEX
04-10-05, 07:12 PM
Bill Ford Receives 2004 Compensation Package Worth More Than $22M for Role As Chairman, CEO

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DETROIT April 7, 2005; Dee-Ann Durbin writing for the AP reported that Bill Ford Jr. received a compensation package valued at just over $22 million in 2004 in his role as chairman and chief executive of Ford Motor Co., the nation's second biggest automaker said Wednesday.

The compensation package was about double what he received the previous year and came as the company's profit soared sevenfold from 2003. His pay package included no cash salary in either year.

Ford, whose great-grandfather Henry Ford founded the company 102 years ago, was awarded 103,882 shares of restricted common stock worth $1.5 million and a bonus of 841,008 shares worth approximately $10.5 million, according to a proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bill Ford also received a stock-option grant for 1.5 million shares with a strike price of $16.49 that will vest in three years. That means Ford has the option of purchasing those shares at $16.49 per share, a performance target for the company. The present value of the grant is $9.9 million, the company said. His other compensation for 2004 totaled $266,000.

Ford Motor shares rose 1 cent to close at $11.11 in trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. They've been trading between $10.94 and $16.48 for the past year.

The company dramatically increased its profit in 2004 to $3.5 billion, or $1.73 a share, from a profit of $495 million, or 27 cents a share, in 2003.

As such, Ford's top executives were rewarded accordingly, with all receiving double or nearly double the bonuses they received last year.

Jim Padilla, Ford's president and chief operating officer, earned $966,667 in salary and a $2 million bonus that consisted of $1.18 million in cash and 69,000 shares worth $854,910. Padilla's compensation included an additional $314,131 for items such as use of a company plane.

Padilla also was awarded 246,696 shares of restricted common stock for his 2004 performance and 50,000 restricted stock equivalents as a long-term incentive with a combined fair market value of $3.7 million at the time of the grant.

Padilla's 2003 salary was $900,000 and his bonus also was $900,000.

Greg Smith, Ford's executive vice president and president of the Americas division, earned $756,667 in salary and a $1.1 million bonus that included $836,000 in cash and 23,000 shares worth $284,970.

The company also reported the salaries of two longtime executives who retired earlier this year. Nick Scheele, the company's former president and chief operating officer, earned $1 million in salary and a $1.5 million bonus. Former vice chairman Allan Gilmour earned $1.05 million in salary and a $1.5 million bonus.

Bill Ford's compensation up from a package valued at around $14.6 million in 2003.

Bill Ford was granted 4.4 million shares in stock options in 2003 versus 1.5 million shares in 2004. Under new federal accounting rules scheduled to go into effect in June, companies must treat stock options as an expense in their financial statements, so many companies are changing the way they reward executives.

For the second year, Bill Ford committed portions of his bonus to a scholarship program for the children of Ford employees and to several Detroit charities, the company said.

Ford Motor is mailing its proxy statement to shareholders Wednesday. The company is scheduled to hold its annual meeting May 12 in Wilmington, Del.

Ford alerted shareholders that they will be voting on seven proposals at the meeting, including one measure sponsored by shareholders that would require Ford to reveal how much it spends lobbying against tougher fuel-economy restrictions and another that would require Ford to link its executive pay to improvements in emissions. Ford's board of directors opposes both proposals.

1SICKLEX
04-10-05, 07:30 PM
Ford slashes 2005 earnings outlook
Automaker blames expected drop in earnings on health care and materials expenses.
April 8, 2005: 6:42 PM EDT

DETROIT, April 8 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. slashed its 2005 earnings forecast Friday and warned it no longer expects to reach its 2006 profit goal, citing higher costs, becoming the second big U.S. automaker in less than a month to paint a bleak picture about its future.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker said it expects its 2005 profit to be at least 14 percent lower than anticipated and does not expect to hit its 2006 profit goal of $7 billion before taxes, due in part to higher raw material and health care costs.

Ford (Research) shares fell almost 5 percent to $10.49 in after hours trading.

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The profit warning, which was announced after the market closed, caused Standard & Poor's to cut its debt rating outlook on Ford and its finance arm to "negative," bringing the automaker a step closer to a downgrade to junk status. A downgrade to junk could raise borrowing costs significantly.

Ford faces many of the same problems as rival General Motors Corp. (Research), which warned last month that it will post its weakest first-quarter earnings since 1992, and profits this year could miss forecasts by as much as 80 percent.

"The industry dynamics that Ford and GM face are similar: high material costs, high legacy costs, declining market share, lackluster product cycle success," said John Kollar, auto credit analyst for HSBC Securities.

Ford's 2005 revised outlook comes as it continues to lose market share to domestic and Asian rivals. The company's U.S. sales have declined 5.2 percent so far this year.

"Although one of our strongest ever product line-ups has been well received by consumers around the world, we are not immune to the broad economic challenges we all face in our industry," Ford Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Ford Jr. said in a statement.

"Obviously there are actions we could take to achieve our pretax profit goal of $7 billion for 2006, but we will not mortgage Ford's future by chasing an objective set under vastly different market and economic conditions," he added.
High costs

The $7 billion target was viewed as a crucial milestone in the 5-year turnaround plan Ford launched in January 2002, when the industrial icon was teetering on the brink of collapse.

"Historically high prices for steel and crude oil, escalating health care expenses and a weak U.S. dollar presented formidable challenges as we entered 2005," Chief Financial Officer Don Leclair said in a statement.

Ford said those pressures have intensified, while aggressive price competition continues in the U.S. auto market.

The automaker cut its 2005 earnings forecast to a range of $1.25 to $1.50 per share from its previous estimate of $1.75 to $1.95 per share.

Ford cautioned last month that its 2005 earnings would likely be at the lower end of its forecast range.

The revised forecast excludes the effect of special charges, which are estimated to be in the range of 8 to 10 cents per share for the full year. Analysts on average expect Ford to post earnings of $1.68 per share in 2005.

But despite rising costs, the automaker said first-quarter earnings per share will exceed previous guidance of 25 cents to 35 cents and full-year automotive operating cash flow is still expected to be positive.

The company will report its quarterly results on April 20 and said it will provide an overview of its future then.